The Hindu Business Line : Marvel Car Wash to open stations in India

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Hyderabad Feb. 9 Marvel Car Wash Equipment Ltd, a subsidiary of Marvel Group of US, plans to set up its fully automatic `Car Bath' facility in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai.

Announcing the launch of its first facility in Hyderabad on Thursday, the promoter, a non-resident Indian, Mr T. Venkateshwar (Raj) Goud, said the facility will offer effective and economical option for car washes.

In just five minutes, the facility, which would cost about Rs 25 lakh to install, will completely clean and wash the car. The facility has a gantry type system, where the vehicle is driven in position and remains stationary while the gantry moves over the vehicle to execute all operations. The Car Wash is a common facility in most western countries and is fully automated.

Manufacturing units

Marvel Car Wash has set up a manufacturing unit in Nagpur, where it has invested Rs 2 crore to make the fully automatic equipment necessary for installing the facility. It has a capacity of making 200 machines a year at present, Mr Goud told newspersons.

The company has planned to locate the facility in 15 places in Hyderabad. Next month it would be opened in Bangalore and subsequently in Chennai and Bangalore. Ownership, lease, franchise options are being pursued said Mr Bharat Shah, Director.

Marvel has already initiated dialogues with Reliance, Essar Group and major oil companies, which have shown interest. Similarly, it is talking to builders and IT companies to locate the facility in campuses, he said.

Marvel Group, which is into software, medical equipment has been operating Car Wash stations in nine locations in the US. A couple of years ago, it tried to enter India through distribution of machines of PDQ, a big player, but the move did not work. Hence, the decision to come on our own, Mr Goud said.